North Korea News Podcast by NK News

In this episode, Professor Andrei Lankov and NK News’ Anton Sokolin discuss the fascinating story of the Yankovskys — a Russian family whose journey took them from Siberian exile to colonial Korea, and ultimately, to the heart of North Korea's tumultuous 20th-century history.

The discussion centers on the family’s time in what became the DPRK after relocating from Siberia, where they ran a tiger hunting resort in the northern region, near Chongjin. 

They also explore how the family's story intersects with the shifting allegiances of North Korea, highlighting their relationship with the regime and how it shaped their survival in a rapidly changing geopolitical environment.

Andrei Lankov is a professor at Kookmin University in Seoul and the director at Korea Risk Group.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

NK News Senior Analytic Correspondent Colin Zwirko joins this week’s episode to discuss Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s high-profile visit to the newly opened Wonsan Kalma beach resort, where he met Kim Jong Un aboard a luxury yacht.

He also dissects emerging signs that North Korea is preparing for a military parade and possible mass games to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Workers’ Party of Korea this October, while unpacking claims — now largely debunked — that the DPRK released radioactive wastewater into the Han River estuary. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Dr. Shinyong Kwon joins this week’s episode to discuss how neighborhood associations — known today as inminban in the DPRK — have been used as tools of governance, social indoctrination and moral authority.

She explains how these associations originated from East Asian communal traditions but were reshaped under Japanese colonial rule to serve wartime mobilization and state control and traces how both Koreas retained and adapted the system post-liberation.

Dr. Shinyoung Kwon holds a PhD in history from the University of Chicago and did postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge. She now lives in the United States. Her book Moral Authoritarianism: Neighborhood Associations in the Three Koreas, 1931–1972 was published in November 2023. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

Seoul last week said it cannot confirm a CNN report that North Korea plans to send 30,000 additional soldiers to support Russia’s war in Ukraine, amid conflicting intelligence assessments. 

While Ukraine’s military intelligence suggested the deployment is imminent, its chief Kyrylo Budanov said no buildup has yet been observed, instead predicting voluntary enlistment of DPRK nationals into Russian forces.

On this week’s episode, NK News Data Correspondent Anton Sokolin joins the podcast to discuss deployment logistics, Kim Jong Un’s public mourning of fallen soldiers and evolving DPRK-Russia infrastructure projects.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Professor Mitsuhito Mimura, a leading Japanese expert on the North Korean economy, joins this week’s podcast for an in-depth discussion on the DPRK’s economic resilience, shifting trade patterns and deepening ties with China and Russia.

With over 35 trips to North Korea under his belt, Mimura shares rare insights into how Pyongyang sustains infrastructure growth under heavy sanctions, how unofficial coal exports to China support both formal and informal sectors and how military and economic cooperation with Moscow could shape the North’s trajectory. He also weighs in on Japan's view of the emerging China-Russia-DPRK axis and what it could mean for Tokyo’s future engagement with Pyongyang.

Mitsuhiro Mimura is a leading Japanese expert on the North Korean economy and regional integration in Northeast Asia. Currently a professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute for Northeast Asia, University of Niigata Prefecture, he previously served as a senior research fellow at the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

North Korea finally opened the long-delayed Wonsan Kalma mega resort on the east coast last week, with leader Kim Jong Un calling for a “new era” of tourism. But with the tourism zone boasting over 50 hotels and capacity for 20,000 tourists, questions remain about who will actually visit the resort as the country keeps its doors closed to most foreigners.

This week, NK News Correspondent Jooheon Kim joins the podcast to discuss the resort amenities that the DPRK showed off and who was on hand for the grand opening. He also dives into a recent event spotlighting defector testimony about executions in North Korea, an inter-Korean rivalry over claims to the martial art of taekwondo and the story of one defector’s quest to make his name as a mixed martial arts fighter.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

In this episode, Norwegian artist and director Morten Traavik and cultural mediator Sun Kim discuss their new documentary “North South Man Woman.” The film explores the emotional complexities of North Korean defectors trying to build lives — and relationships — in South Korea, with a special focus on matchmaking between DPRK women and ROK men.

Traavik and Kim reflect on the documentary’s five-year production process, the personal journeys of their protagonists and how issues of cultural identity, trauma, gender roles and social integration shape life after defection. They also unpack how the film balances moments of lightness and pain, and how storytelling can illuminate the human costs of geopolitical division.

Norwegian artist and director Morten Traavik has undertaken several provocative and boundary-pushing art and film projects involving North Korea. His work often explores themes of cultural exchange, propaganda and the role of art in politically charged environments. He previously appeared on epsiode 103 of the podcast. 

His collaborator Sun Kim is a Korean American and Belgian producer and cultural mediator for a number of Morten’s exchanges with North Korean authorities for over a decade. 

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has announced nominations for several key positions handling North Korean issues, continuing to select pro-engagement officials for inter-Korean roles.

NK News Correspondent Joon Ha Park talks about the latest appointments, as well as South Korea’s live-fire artillery exercises near the inter-Korean border and North Korea’s launch of about 10 artillery rockets from near Pyongyang. 

He also discusses his interview with retired Vice Adm. Suh Young-gil, who led South Korean naval forces at the First Battle of Yeonpyeong, to mark the 26th anniversary of the pivotal inter-Korean clash.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

Dr. Dong Jin Kim, a leading peace studies scholar with research experience spanning Korea, Ireland, Cyprus and South Africa, joins the podcast to explore how divided societies navigate conflict, peacebuilding and reconciliation, as well as lessons from these cases for the Korean Peninsula.

Examining Ireland’s journey, he argues that lasting peace depends on sustained community engagement and mutual recognition, not just political agreements. He also draws on examples like youth art exchanges between North and South Korea to highlight how everyday people can help build trust even when official dialogue stalls.

Dong Jin Kim is the Kim Dae Jung chair professor of Peace Studies at Hanshin University and also an adjunct professor at the School of Religion, Theology and Peace Studies at Trinity College, Dublin.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.

NK News subscribers can listen to this and other exclusive episodes from their preferred podcast player by accessing the private podcast feed. For more detailed instructions, please see the step-by-step guide at nknews.org/private-feed.

Israel’s dramatic strikes on Iran’s nuclear program and Tehran’s retaliation have dominated headlines in recent days, and North Korea is no doubt paying close attention.

NK News CEO Chad O’Caroll joins the podcast to talk about what lessons North Korea might be drawing from the clashes and U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, including the importance of deterrence and missile capabilities and the value of secrecy in the face of foreign intelligence threats.

He also discusses the shifting state of inter-Korean propaganda broadcasts and an unexpected report about a possible North Korean tourism re-opening.

About the podcast: The North Korea News Podcast is a weekly podcast hosted by Jacco Zwetsloot exclusively for NK News, covering all things DPRK — from news to extended interviews with leading experts and analysts in the field, along with insight from our very own journalists.